Thursday I rose at an early hour to drive south to Brownsville – the bucolic, early fall environs of the Laurel Highlands. Fifty fourth graders waited at Cox-Donahey elementary school for their own Hear Me assembly, put together by The Future is Mine high school students from Brownsville High School. I entered “the building” - as so many administrators and teachers now call their school – to the familiar hallway bustle, anti-bullying and healthy-eating posters.
It amazes me what happens when us adults get out of the way and encourage young leaders to emerge. After introductions by Lynn Jellots, Brownsville high school French teacher and TFIM advisor, the high schoolers inspired a group of fidgeting nine year-olds to share stories from their young lives. They wrote in mannered cursive, sharing crayons - writing, talking and drawing about themes such as, “Who is my Hero?” and “What Worries Me?”
Towards the end, Ms. Jellots opened the floor for kids of all kinds to read to their peers. One boy read about how it made him sad that his mom had cancer, and that he saw an angel and it made him feel like things might turn out OK. Just sharing this story opened up a new relationship between the boy and his teacher, who didn’t know that his mother was so ill. Another girl share how it made her feel to be on stage, dancing and dancing…. A confident boy with a scar on his head actually introduced Michael Vic as his hero. After the audible small gasps at that thought, the boy read on to say that Michael Vic was a QB just like him, and even though Michael Vic “made some bad choices, he admitted his wrongs and he is working to make it right.” Out of the mouths of….